HE CHI

In the past, spring was everyone’s thing ;

Now, spring is still everyone’s thing ;

From now on and to the furthest future,

Spring will remain everyone’s thing.

In 2021, He Chi came across a round porcelain tea boat by chance. This type of teaware, commonly used by ordinary people, was popular in southern China from the early 1970s to the late 1980s. Its surface was often adorned with literati-style landscapes, flowers, birds, and auspicious motifs. Through using the tea boat, He Chi experienced a state of self-sufficiency and internal harmony— a naturally flowing individual consciousness distinct from today’s prevailing culture of awakening.

For He Chi, tea drinkers seek the essence of spring. In his memory, China in the 1970s and 1980s also carried the breath of spring—a time when people’s imagination about life began to emerge, yet the rapid acceleration of globalization had not yet arrived.

The work consists of 131 tea boats, each representing an individual. The time markers on the tea boats range from 1973 to 1989, coinciding with the period from He Chi’s birth to his coming of age at 16 as a northerner in China.